Stubborn pipe blockage problem snaking hasn't fixed

[Dig Doug]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to try the Bio-clean first just to see if it does anything. I'll give it three weeks of treatments. If that doesn't work, I think I'll try a jetting kit (or maybe just a garden hose first). If that doesn't work, I'll try the other suggestions.

I'll report back with what worked when I finally get it. I'm out of town for two weeks + three weeks trying Bio-clean + a week to work up my nerve to jet...you should hear back in 6 to 8 weeks.

Thanks again!

 

[Dig Doug]

UPDATE: did the Bio-Clean work?

I'm not sure as I cannot see inside the pipes. But a week after using it for about 8 days, no backups yet. Used the stuff for about 8 days treating it night and day and not using the sink at all (when instructions only mention using at night when you won't be using the pipes for 8 hours). I did a test of placing gunk I got out of the tub (mostly hair but also other mush) and some toilet paper into a bowl with Bio-Clean; several days later I can't tell that it did anything. Also did two treatments in my bathroom sink overnight to see if it would "crawl" up and clean what I could see and nothing there either. Based on this, I'd be skeptical it really works. But as I said, I have no stop ups yet one week after an 8-day treatment regimen. I suppose only time will tell.

I'm inclined to say it works because it's flowing freely now for the first time in months. I did snake it once during my 8 day treatment just to make sure there was enough of a hole in whatever gunk was stopping it up. But after about 5 other snakings with no good results, I doubt my success was due just to that.

 

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[Jeff H Young]

UPDATE: did the Bio-Clean work?

I'm not sure as I cannot see inside the pipes. But a week after using it for about 8 days, no backups yet. Used the stuff for about 8 days treating it night and day and not using the sink at all (when instructions only mention using at night when you won't be using the pipes for 8 hours). I did a test of placing gunk I got out of the tub (mostly hair but also other mush) and some toilet paper into a bowl with Bio-Clean; several days later I can't tell that it did anything. Also did two treatments in my bathroom sink overnight to see if it would "crawl" up and clean what I could see and nothing there either. Based on this, I'd be skeptical it really works. But as I said, I have no stop ups yet one week after an 8-day treatment regimen. I suppose only time will tell.

I'm inclined to say it works because it's flowing freely now for the first time in months. I did snake it once during my 8 day treatment just to make sure there was enough of a hole in whatever gunk was stopping it up. But after about 5 other snaking's with no good results, I doubt my success was due just to that.

I didn't re read everything but you said you had a stoppage that wouldn't clear? now you don't have a stoppage? so what happened if it was not the bio clean ? then it must have been the snake but you said snaking didn't work either

 

[SteveW]

UPDATE: did the Bio-Clean work?

I'm not sure as I cannot see inside the pipes. But a week after using it for about 8 days, no backups yet. Used the stuff for about 8 days treating it night and day and not using the sink at all (when instructions only mention using at night when you won't be using the pipes for 8 hours). I did a test of placing gunk I got out of the tub (mostly hair but also other mush) and some toilet paper into a bowl with Bio-Clean; several days later I can't tell that it did anything. Also did two treatments in my bathroom sink overnight to see if it would "crawl" up and clean what I could see and nothing there either. Based on this, I'd be skeptical it really works. But as I said, I have no stop ups yet one week after an 8-day treatment regimen. I suppose only time will tell.

I'm inclined to say it works because it's flowing freely now for the first time in months. I did snake it once during my 8 day treatment just to make sure there was enough of a hole in whatever gunk was stopping it up. But after about 5 other snakings with no good results, I doubt my success was due just to that.

Bio-Clean does indeed work. It is not designed to dissolve hair or paper, unlike caustic drain cleaners. The enzymes and bacteria go after the organic mass that clings to pipes over time and make the pipe diameter smaller -- they don't dissolve the acute cause of a clog.

I'd suggest a weekly dose of Bio-Clean for the next month to keep things going, then maybe monthly after that.

 

[Dig Doug]

I was just going off their website: https://www.bio-clean.ca/

"It does not attack live tissue nor inorganic materials, only organic wastes like grease, hair, food particles, paper, cotton & sewage."

I do believe it works. My update was poorly written in places that may seem like I do not, so to restate, just based off my two tests where I could see what happened or did not happen, I was skeptical. But I am not still skeptical because of the results from the places where I cannot see but where the results support that it does work.

 

[SteveW]

Interesting -- i had forgotten that the manufacturer does in fact claim it goes after paper and hair -- I guess the operative word here is "attack" vs "dissolve."

On the down side, Bio-Clean can't really help much if there is no water flowing in a pipe. It needs at least a narrow tunnel to get in and start "attacking."

 

[Plumbs]

Interesting -- i had forgotten that the manufacturer does in fact claim it goes after paper and hair -- I guess the operative word here is "attack" vs "dissolve."

On the down side, Bio-Clean can't really help much if there is no water flowing in a pipe. It needs at least a narrow tunnel to get in and start "attacking."

I think that what they mean by "attack" is that it will remove organic sludge attached to the hair. Usually when you get a clog where hair is an issue the hair is only half the problem. The other half is the oils that attach themselves to the hair which gets exponentially worse.
That's why some people have to keep using drain opener liquids on a regular basis- they're not actually removing the hair which catches all that sludge.
Like the op, I've also done experiments with the bio cleaners I used to sell at Roto-Rooter. I've left hairballs in that solution for a week and it didn't dissolve it but it did leave it shiny and slick.

 

[Michael Young]

Problem: kitchen sink almost fully stopped up. All other sinks, toilets and baths are on other side of house and connected together and have no problems whatsoever. Pipe from sink is 2" and I'd say about 50 feet before joining the rest of house pipes; I can follow the pipe in the crawlspace a good ways before it disappears in the wall. As there are no problems with the rest of the house, I assume the problem is in the 2" pipe between the sink and where it joins the pipe for the rest of the house. All pipe is PVC.

A few years ago called plumber out and they got it flowing for $500. We quit putting anything down the drain, although dishwasher debris obviously still goes.

Problem came back recently. Wife used a few bottles of Drano that didn't seem to help. I told her to stop using chemicals. I snaked it with a 50 foot snake; very little on the head when I pulled it but got it flowing for several weeks. Stopped up again and 50 foot snake didn't get it flowing. Bought a 100 foot snake. Couldn't retract it so I pulled it out through the cleanout (which I measured to be about 85 feet from the sink). Got a little flow but backs up when I run any water beyond just a little. Not 100% blocked because it does slowly drain. Snaked it to the cleanout and pulled it through three times total. No noticeable debris on the head. Each time I try running hot water and soap right after but it backs up quickly.

Looking for advice on what to try next. I assume I have buildup in the pipe but I do get the 1/2 inch snake through it. How do I get that removed? Is there a safer alternative to Drano I should try? Or try Drano now? I do not want to hurt myself with chemical residue the next time I snake it.

POST-NOTE: wife is super concerned over COVID or we would have had a plumber come in. For now, I'm relegated to fixing it myself or living with it until COVID passes and she feels safe to have someone in.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

Doug

- Follow that 2" pipe all the way back until you reach the other end where it connects back to the building drain
- take your sawzall. cut it at the building drain (leave about a 4" nub for your no-hub band)
- take your sawzall. cut it directly underneath your kitchen
- MEASURE the piece you cut out
- Replace the entire piece. reconnect on both sides using your 2" no-hub bands (if you can, use the heavy-duty bands with 4 tensioners)
- You should be able to use the old straps. But make sure you strap your pipe with grade EVERY FOUR FEET.
- add a cleanout in the most accessible location you can find

-Mike
https://homeservicestriad.com

 

[Jeff H Young]

- Follow that 2" pipe all the way back until you reach the other end where it connects back to the building drain
- take your sawzall. cut it at the building drain (leave about a 4" nub for your no-hub band)
- take your sawzall. cut it directly underneath your kitchen
- MEASURE the piece you cut out
- Replace the entire piece. reconnect on both sides using your 2" no-hub bands (if you can, use the heavy-duty bands with 4 tensioners)
- You should be able to use the old straps. But make sure you strap your pipe with grade EVERY FOUR FEET.
- add a cleanout in the most accessible location you can find

-Mike
https://homeservicestriad.com

Got that right ! if you can't clear the drain cut it out

 

[Dig Doug]

4 month update for anyone that comes across this: my pipe is still clear! This was after two months or more of my wife bailing water every time the dishwasher ran and using the toilet across the house to pour anything down the drain she would have otherwise used the kitchen drain for.

After I treated the pipe and seemed to have got it going, I had planned to use Bio-clean once a week for a month or two and then use it monthly. Lazy me did neither. But it is still clear.

If I were younger and considering having more kids, I'd seriously consider naming my next one "Bio-clean." I had doubted it, but it is my new best friend.

 

[Terry]

I have Bio-Clean in the house, I've never had to snake my kitchen sink line in all the time I've lived here.
Mix a spoonful with warm water, pour it down the sink before going to bed, do that every once in a while if things start to get slow.
The city of Bellevue requires restaurants to use something like it for their grease traps to prevent clogging of the city lines.
I have to say, it's way cheaper than having someone with equipment come and and fix a grease filled line for me.

 

[Sylvan]

"I used a drain bladder successfully by cutting out a section of drain pipe in a basement under a kitchen. Shove the drain bladder in, and turn on the water".


The problem with using a bladder

1- It forces water up the vent line or other waste pipe either up or down stream causing a flood

2- It is a cross connection from potable water to a waste line

3-. If the stoppage is not cleared your now faced with gallons of waste water flooding the area

 

[Reach4]

In my case, I was inserting the hose and drain bladder past the laundry santee. Blockage was at presumed 90 bend beneath the basement floor, so no vents between blockage and drain blatter.

#2 is a consideration, but it seemed unlikely, plus creating a vacuum in the city water supply was really unlikely. Had I been cleaning something above ground level, that might have been more of a concern.

#3 The blockage was not complete, although I guess there could theoretically have been a compacting of the blockage to make it impenetrable.

So drain bladder has limitations, but for that bend under the basement floor it worked nicely.

 

[JohnCT]

Also, consider scraping your plates before putting them in the dishwasher. I don't know if you do already but a lot of people put plates in the dishwasher that still have bones on them (I exaggerate, but you get the idea).

John

 

[Sylvan]

Also, consider scraping your plates before putting them in the dishwasher. I don't know if you do already but a lot of people put plates in the dishwasher that still have bones on them (I exaggerate, but you get the idea).

John

What a waste of time and water to pre rinse !!!

People should be told not to place broken glass in a garbage disposal or rocks or wood corn cob

Wouldn't it make more sense to buy a decent dishwasher with a garbage disposal already in it?

 

[Dig Doug]

Yes, we put nothing down the sink or disposal anymore that we can avoid. Scrape scraps into trash (and pour grease into trash) or, if liquid other than grease, take it to the toilet that goes almost directly to large pipe connected closely to sewer connection.

I'll always try Bio-clean before any other method, other than using the snake, if I have future problems.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Yes, we put nothing down the sink or disposal anymore that we can avoid. Scrape scraps into trash (and pour grease into trash) or, if liquid other than grease, take it to the toilet that goes almost directly to large pipe connected closely to sewer connection.

I'll always try Bio-clean before any other method, other than using the snake, if I have future problems.

I guess it depends how much grease you have , evidently with the history its either what is going down the drains or condition of piping and grade etc, but you had trouble for awhile , how much grease do you need to pour might be an issue I pour some of mine outside , or in a can . but I don't like having problems